Primrose Evans: Muggle Power
by RoseEvansxox
Summary: What if Lily Evans was not the youngest Evans sister? What if Primrose Evans was thrown into the mix? How drastically would the Harry Potter stories change? Read on to find out... AU from start Plan to update at least once a week Rated T for potential language/themes used in future
1. Chapter 1, Background Information

**Author's Note:**

Hi so this is my first fic so please bear with me cuz I'm sort of new at all this! My plan for now is to update this at least once a week but we'll see how it goes, could be more than that or less!

 **Summary:** What if Lily Evans was not the youngest Evans sister? What if Primrose Evans was thrown into the mix? How drastically would the Harry Potter stories change? Read on to find out...

AU from start

 **Chapter 1, Background Information**

Lily Evans has not one but two sisters: Petunia Evans, uptight, snobbish, jealous and 3 years her senior and Primrose (Rose for short) Evans, kind, loyal, fiery tempered and 3 years younger. Rose and Lily are as close as sisters can be, despite Rose being a Muggle. As children they shared everything from their bedroom to all their secrets. So when Lily discovered she was a witch it was no surprise that Rose and Lily spent hours chatting about what the Wizarding World would be like. They went shopping in Diagon Alley together with their parents for Lily's first wand and constantly wrote to each other while Lily was at Hogwarts, using Lily's owl Pearl. As Lily progressed through Hogwarts and learnt more about the Wizarding World she shared everything with her sister, so much that Rose could have gotten Os in all her OWLs and NEWTs (forgetting about the practical of course!) Rose heard everything from Lily, about the articles in the Wizarding paper the Daily Prophet, the newest hair and makeup charms from Teen Witch Weekly (which Lily promised to try on Rose as soon as she could do magic outside of school) and all about those boys who called themselves 'The Marauders' and the stupid pranks they pulled. She laughed out loud when she read Lily's letter explaining when she'd told "that idiot Potter" that she'd "rather date the giant squid than him", and she heard about how Potter's partner-in-crime Black had broken the heart of nearly every girl in the school, aside from sensible Lily, of course. Rose comforted Lily when Petunia was jealous and horrid towards Lily, all because she wasn't a witch, and likewise Lily comforted Rose, when she didn't receive an acceptance letter to Hogwarts. But nothing could break the relationship between the two sisters, not even when Lily got married (to "that idiot Potter" which Rose never let her live down), not when Lily became the proud mother to Harry James Potter, not even when the Potters were forced into hiding because of that damned 'Voldemort'. But on the night of 31st October 1981 something changed. For the first time ever, in the 10 years since she'd known she was a witch, Lily didn't respond within the day to the owl Rose had sent her. As Lily was stuck in hiding and always responded within 6 hours, Rose knew that something was up, and she was determined to find out what...

 **By the way, just a quick disclaimer: nothing but my Primrose Evans and this story idea is mine, the rest belongs to JKR**

Any thoughts? Like it? Hate it? (Hopefully not!) Please review with your thoughts and any possible ideas you want me to include!


	2. Chapter 2, Something’s siriusly wrong

**Chapter 2, Something's Siriusly wrong**

 **Sunday 1st November 1981**

It was 8:56 in the morning and Primrose Evans was sat in her modest-sized kitchen pondering. Lily hadn't responded yet and she was getting a bit worried. Despite the approximately 2 hour flight each way between her and Lily's houses, Lily always responded straight away.

She'd sent her last letter off with her owl, Ruby, at 20:00 the night before, knowing that Lily and James didn't go to bed until 22:30 and she'd expected a response just before she'd gone to bed after having stayed up late watching a film on TV. When at 00:30 on Sunday morning she'd not received a response she'd decided to go to bed and she was sure that there would be a response waiting for her when she woke up. Lily must have been distracted by Harry, she thought as she tossed and turned. But no, something just wasn't right, she realised when at 8:06 she registered that there still hadn't been the usual

 _Tap tap tap_

at the window that told her that Lily had responded.

So, 50 minutes later Rose was showered, dressed and sipping her tea whilst trying to convince herself that everything was fine with Lily.

To anyone else, Rose would have seemed paranoid, but Rose knew her sister too well. She knew that Lily _always_ responded immediately. Lily was cooped up, hidden away in a house and not able to leave - what else would there be to do? She and James looked after Harry of course, but Rose knew that whenever a letter came Lily passed Harry to James to respond right away.

Rose was fully aware of the dangerous times that the Wizarding World was in right now, and she was even more aware of the danger to _her family_. She knew about the prophecy (Lily had told her after a minor disagreement with Professor Dumbledore about keeping things as secret as possible to protect everyone involved. Lily argued that the sisters had never kept secrets and that Rose deserved to know as it concerned her only family - aside from Petunia, who didn't really count given their history).

So that was why Rose was so concerned.

All of a sudden there came a

 _Tap tap tap_

and Rose's heart leapt. 'I was wrong! she thought, 'I was wrong!'

But when she opened the window, her heart froze. For there, tied to her owl, was the same letter she'd sent to Lily the night before. The same letter, untouched, uncrumpled and most certainly with no reply.

At that instant Rose knew her fears were not unfounded.

'Rose' that little voice in her head said, 'Rose you listen to me. You don't know what happened, you don't know that everything's gone wrong, you're just scared. Stop worrying. Be strong until you have proof that something's happened to them. Now's the time to be logical.'

So Rose did the next best thing to writing to Lily and James.

She wrote to Sirius.

Because of course, if something was up he'd know, he knows where they are and he can easily get there, she reasoned to herself. He can apparate and use magic, so he'll know straight away when something's wrong, and of course if he'd already found something he would have let you know immediately. He knows how important they are to you, she thought. So the fact he's not contacted you must mean they're fine! She brightened up at that thought, but still couldn't shake that odd feeling of despair that surrounded her.

She sent her letter off to Sirius, not quite sure how long it might take for it to reach him, but knowing that he'd respond as soon possible cheered her up considerably.

She glanced at the clock.

 _9:24_

Damn! I've got to leave for work soon, I can't be late, she thought. It took her 20 minutes to walk to the café where she worked on weekends and her shift was due to start at 10:00. Oh and she had to be there 10-15 minutes before her shift started.

Rose rushed around the bungalow and hurriedly ran to work. She was in such a rush and so lost in her own thoughts, that she didn't notice the funny cloaked people crossing the road, or the owl that pooed on the woman across the street as it soared across the sky, in broad daylight, to deliver whatever message it had been entrusted with.

No, she didn't notice any of that, and had she, then perhaps she would have been more prepared for what she was about to discover.

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Rose arrived at work at 9:51 with just enough time to get ready before her shift.

Everything went normally until at around 14:10 Rose was asked to serve the 2 people who had just arrived in the petite café.

As Rose looked up, her sky blue eyes widdened as she saw that the strangers were dressed in long, draping robes. _Wizarding robes she realised with a start. Right something is definitely up, she decided. I've never seen wizards in their robes in Muggle areas before, let alone in the middle of the day!_

 _At that moment she knew that something had happened in the Wizarding World, something either so good or so bad that the wizards forgot all about the Statue of Secrey Lily had told her about. She hoped that whatever it was was good news, God knows Lily and James could do with some good in their lives after everyone they've lost in this war she thought._

"Rose" her colleague Carter brought her back to this world.

"Oh right yeah" she mumbled "I'll go see to them".

She took their orders and as she came back with their drinks she could hear snippets of their conversation.

The first man, a tall man of just under 6ft with black hair ended with "...end of the war."

And the man to his left, a short, bald man responded "Yes, although it's terribly sad about the Potters and their ..." he trailed off when he saw Rose approach them with their drinks.

Rose stopped dead in her tracks, "Excuse me sir, I apologise for interrupting, but may I ask what you were saying about the Potters?"

The 2 men shared a look.

But it didn't exactly take a skilled Legimens to understand their thoughts. Rose could read exactly what was going through their minds:

 _What should we tell her? Does she know them?_

And:

 _But she's a Muggle working in a Muggle cafe! We can't tell her anything!_

"Um... it's nothing my dear... just the conversation of 2 old men. Nothing to worry about at all," the tall man said, uncertainty and fear laced into his eyes.

Rose tried to relax, reassuring herself that Potter was such a common name, and of course, it could be anyone they were talking about. But no. They mentioned a war, she reminded herself, and there was no war anywhere near England. Besides, she chided herself, how could she forget, Lily had told her when James' parents had both died of dragon pox just a couple of years ago that Potter was a very rare name in the Wizarding World, and that James, and now Harry, were the last heirs to the Potter fortune and name.

Her heart dropped at this sudden realisation and her stubbornness kicked in. Something had happened to her family and she would be damned if some stupid wizards wouldn't tell her what it was.

Her resolve on the outside wasn't quite as strong though.

"T-t-they w-weren't called J-James and L-L-Lily were they?" her voice crumbled, her heart already knowing the answer.

She looked up just in time to see the eyes of the two men widden in shock that this Muggle waitress clearly knew who they had been talking about and looked visibly upset.

 _That one look was enough._

If Rose wasn't sure before, she certainly was now.

 _Something was siriusly wrong._

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Rose, come on, compose yourself, who knows, maybe they've just had an accident? she thought, desperately trying to squash this depressive, mopey side of hers.

You're in public, _at work_ , get a grip Rose! Pull yourself together! She reprimanded herself.

 _Sniff_

Rose sniffed and looked up at the men.

"So what's happened?" she asked them.

"Well, my dear, we're terribly sorry, but James and Lily were involved in a car accid-"

 _"WHAT?"_ Rose all but shouted, "James and Lily don't even have a car! What are you talking about?"

The men's faces paled as they glanced at each other, silently wondering how much this Muggle knew about their world, or in fact, if she even was a Muggle at all.

The tall man leant forward, "I'm sorry dear but we have to ask, have you ever heard of the word Muggle?"

"Of course," Rose huffed, "now what were you saying about James and Lily?"

"So, you know about..., about..."

"All about magic, yes, how could I not with my own sister being a witch?"

The men's faces were shocked, that much was clear to Rose, although she supposed they weren't expecting to have a conversation about magic to a Muggle in a Muggle café.

"So what happened then?" Rose asked impatiently.

"Are ... are you saying that Lily Potter was your sister?" the bald man asked, a look of sadness crossing his eyes.

"Ye- wait _WAS_ my sister. No, no, no you've got to be mistaken, Lily is my sister, she sent me an owl last night, of course she's alive, and well, and with her son and husband. No there's got to be some sort of mix up, she can't be... she can't be... she can't..." her voice broke as tears streamed down her face.

She looked up at the men, as if daring them to tell her she was wrong, that they'd got the wrong person, that this was some sick joke, anything but the truth.

The look of pity softened their eyes and at that moment Rose knew.

 _Her sister was dead._

There was no denying it, the men's faces said it all.

 _Lily was dead and all the magic in the world could not reverse her tragic fate._

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 **Authors Note** : Thank you so much to everyone that followed, favourited and reviewed! I can't believe anyone's even read this!

To my reviewers:

 **E-dett** \- Thank you.

 **bluepillfanfic** \- Thank you! I can't wait to share more! I've got lots of ideas, I just need the time to write them all down!

 **EmeraldGuardian7** \- Thank you for your comments and feedback, they were very useful! How's this for length? I feel like it comes to a natural break here and I think each chapter length will vary slightly but once I get into a routine they should hopefully be much longer than chapter 1.

 **Constance Fisher** \- Thank you! Glad you're enjoying it!


	3. Chapter 3, Mourning

**Chapter 3, Mourning**

 **Sunday 1st November 1981**

 **14:48**

Rose was sent home from work on that terrible Sunday afternoon. Her boss could see she was in no fit state to carry on. Whilst the whole Wizarding World were rejoicing, laughing, hell even partying, Rose was sat at home on her couch, drinking a cup of tea and grieving for everything she had lost.

She cried, and cried, and cried some more until she had ran out of tears. Then she thought about beautiful Lily once more, and the thought that _she would never see her ever again_.

 _She would NEVER see Lily ever again._

 _Lily was dead._

 _Lily was gone from this world FOREVER._

She couldn't believe it. Her beautiful sister. Only 21.

 _21!_

Too young to die.

 _Too young to die._

That thought stuck with Rose.

Although she'd ran out of tears, the pain of her loss still stung, more than ever as she realised the massive effect that this would have on her life. She thought of her sister's bright green eyes. Eyes that radiated happiness. Eyes that sparkled with joy, no matter the situation. Lily was always the positive one, always. With one brilliant smile she could make you forget about all of your worries. She was the light in Rose's life.

When their parents had died from a Death Eater attack when Rose was only 15, Lily had been her rock. Rose was in denial at first, then disbelief, then the tears came and then the worrying about where she would live. Whilst Petunia refused to talk to them, blaming their deaths on Lily for being a witch (and Rose, for supporting Lily as a witch), Lily had ignored all of that, masked her own grief and comforted Rose as much as she needed. She understood that whilst she was an adult in both worlds at 18, Rose still needed a legal guardian, and had therefore lost not only her parents, but her home and whole life as she knew it. Lily had been the one person to get her through her grief, and ironically enough, she thought, she was now stuck grieving over the death of the one person who could get her through it.

 _'Come on Rose, what would Lily say to you?'_ she questioned herself.

 _'Rose, it's ok to grieve, that's part of life,'_ Lily's voice rang through her ears, _'but just remember what I said to you when our parents died and you'll eventually get through it.'_

And Rose did remember.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Rose sweetheart," Lily said to a sobbing 15 year old Rose, a week after their deaths, "Rose listen to me. They would be glad to know that you loved them so much, but Rose," Lily gently tilted her chin up and their eyes met, "they would want you to grieve, and then slowly go back to being the happy, bubbly Rose that they knew. They would not want to you dwell on the sadness of it all, but use this as a stepping stone to the next great adventure in your life." Rose looked down again, deep in thought. "Rose you know Sirius," Rose looked back up and nodded, "well once I heard he had an unusually intelligent moment when his friend was grieving. I'll never forget this, and I'm not meaning because Sirius was actually intelligent for once," Lily joked. "He said 'always remember this, the ones that love us never truly leave us'. Rose that's what's getting me through this, remember that Mum and Dad will always be with you, in here," she leant forward and gently placed her hand over Rose's heart. "They'll always live in our hearts and we will never forget them. They'll be with us every step of the way because they're a part of who we are. Just remember this Rose, because this will help you get through it like it did me. And remember, Mum and Dad would have wanted us to slowly pick up the pieces of our grief and carry on with our lives."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Rose thought about this and realised that Lily would be looking down on her, wherever she was, and telling her that same message. 'It's ok to grieve for me,' she'd say, 'but don't dwell on it too long. You've still got a life to live, so please, live it to the fullest. For me'.

Suddenly Rose realised what Lily would have wanted her to do - to try and carry on with life. It's ok to have moments where you can't carry on, she realised, but just like with their parents' deaths, you've got to slowly try and pick up the pieces.

With that thought Rose got up to place her empty cup of tea in the kitchen and decided she needed to do something to take her mind away from all of this.

 _'Baking!'_ she thought with a start. When they were younger, her and Lily would always bake together when one of them was sad, or angry. It would always seem to help let the emotions out. And it would also be a great way to commemorate Lily. So she decided to bake a Victoria Sponge cake - Lily's favourite.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A couple of hours later a tired, but significantly happier Rose had finished baking and washing all the dishes. She sat down for her dinner - a simple soup and pasta, and a slice of Victoria Sponge cake, of course.

Whilst she ate she thought about everything and decided she needed to find out the facts about what happened to Lily and her family. The best bet, she decided, would be to send her owl to Professor Dumbledore because of course he would know.

Then she realised something, Sirius still hadn't responded.

 _'How strange,'_ she pondered, _'I would have thought that he'd respond straight away, especially considering that Lily's d-died. Perhaps he's just very busy, or in a location where Ruby can't find him?'_

Then she realised that she couldn't owl Professor Dumbledore because her owl was still trying to find Sirius. ' _It can wait till morning, I'll sleep on it for now,'_ she decided.

And with that she showered and went to bed.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The following morning Rose woke up and rang the lawyers firm where she worked as an apprentice and told them, with difficulty due to her sobbing, that she'd had a close family bereavement and would be unable to work for a while. Fortunately her colleague at reception was extremely understanding and told her to take as much time as she needed and she gave her deepest sympathies.

After that slightly upsetting phone call, Rose took a moment to compose herself and helped herself to a cup of tea and a slice of the Victoria Sponge she made the night before.

As she ate her brain started wondering and she realised that Ruby, her owl, still hadn't come back with a response from Sirius which meant that she couldn't owl Dumbledore.

Not knowing how long it might take for Sirius to respond she decided that there was only one thing she could really do - because she couldn't just sit around grieving, she knew that wasn't good for her. Her sister had died, and that was all she knew. She didn't know if James or Harry were alive, how Lily died, why Sirius wasn't responding, and most aggravatingly, why Dumbledore hadn't had the _bloody common courtesy_ to tell her that _her own sister had died when the whole Wizarding World was talking about it._

So Rose decided there was only one thing she could do.

Pay Petunia a visit...

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 **Authors note:** Thanks again to everyone who followed, favourited and reviewed! Please let me know what your thoughts are! I've never written about loss before so hopefully this was alright?

To my reviewers:

 **lilyflower50** \- Thanks for the review! Yes the plan is for Harry to live with Rose, but not without a fight from certain people! I'll leave it at that for now!

 **F.maiden** \- Thank you!


	4. Chapter 4, Privet Drive

**Chapter 4, Privet Drive**

 **Monday 2nd November 1981**

 **9:09**

Rose was sat at the petite dining room table with several books spread around her - her address book, which thankfully had Petunia and that husband of her's address in, a map of the surrounding area and a timetable of the buses to Surrey, as a taxi would be too expensive and Rose couldn't drive, again due to the costs of running a car and learning to drive.

Rose found the best bus to take her to Petunia's house, No. 4 Privet Drive, and saw that she would have a 10 or so minute walk from the bus stop to Privet Drive.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 _Around 1 hour later_

Rose was lost in deep thought on her walk to Privet Drive, thinking about whether Petunia would know anything about what happened to Lily and her family - as unlikely as it seemed considering everyone Lily knew knew how close she was with Rose and how strained her relationship was with Petunia, so why would anyone tell Petunia and not Rose, she wondered.

'Then again,' thought Rose, 'Petunia's my last chance of finding out what happened until Ruby returns and who knows when that might be. I mean, I can hardly hop on a bus all the way from down here to Hogwarts _in Scotland._ And I'm pretty sure Lily mentioned once that Hogwarts is invisible to Muggles unless you're already keyed into the wards, so visiting Petunia really is my last hope for now,' Rose concluded.

Just then she rounded the corner of Privet Drive.

'Aha, right No. 4, where is it? Oh there!' she exclaimed as she spotted it.

As she observed No. 4 she noted that everything from the house, to the lawn, to the flowerbeds looked pristine. The grass looked recently trimmed and was a luscious green colour, despite the approaching winter. And the pavement outside the house was clear of all stray leaves from the nearby trees, as though it had only been brushed 10 minutes before.

Rose finished her silent observation and took a deep breath.

Now was the time to speak to the sister she hadn't spoken to in just over a year. The last time being at Dudley's christening when she'd defended Lily from Vernon's insults and Petunia had rounded on her, telling her to leave straight away before she caused a bigger fuss.

No that had not been a good day, Rose recalled.

Anyway, time to knock on the door and hope that Petunia would at least invite her in to have a little chat.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 _Knock knock_

A couple of minutes later Rose was about to leave, thinking that Petunia must be out. Suddenly the door was wrenched open and there stood a tall, thin and rather ugly woman.

That woman was Petunia.

Each woman stood on their side of the door, looking each other up and down, before Rose (realising that Petunia wasn't about to say anything anytime soon) started with "Tuney."

"Primrose," Petunia responded, stiff with surprise, still taking in her sister's beautiful features and how much she looked like Li- _her_.

"May I come in please? It's rather cold out here," Rose asked.

It was as though all of a sudden Petunia had come back to her senses. "What do you want," she snapped, "I'm busy enough as it is without _you_ turning up on my doorstep," she said with disdain.

Rose's face showed the surprise that she was feeling. She hadn't thought that Tuney would have been so sharp-tongued to her only remaining sister, no matter the not-so-good terms they last ended on.

"I wondered if you know anything about what happened to Lily and her famil-" she was cut off.

"What do you mean - of course I know. You left me lumbered with the damn freak!!!" Petunia shrieked.

Rose was well and truly confused by this latest turn of events.

"What? _I left you lumbered with the freak?_ What do you mean? And who are you calling a freak?"

"Don't you play dumb with me Primrose," Petunia all but snarled, "you know exactly what's going on. In fact, I expect you've only come here to get a rise out of me. Yes, that's it," she assured herself, "well it's not working."

Suddenly a scream erupted from nearby.

"Now excuse me while I go and see to the stupid freak," she spat.

And with that she slammed the door in Rose's face.

Rose stood in shock on the doorstep, mulling everything over.

'She seems to think I know what's going on. And what did she mean about having to see to the freak? Wait a minute, does that mean that Harry's alive? Who else would she refer to as a freak? And it was a baby's scream. But that doesn't make sense, why would someone place Harry with Petunia if both Lily and James had died - from what Lily said it would have been Sirius or me?'

Rose took a deep breath. 'Too many questions and not enough answers' she thought. 'Time to try again. This time with Plan B.'

 _Knock knock_

The door opened.

"Go _away!_ " she growled.

"Petunia, please. Is Harry there?"

"Of course, who else did you think was screaming so loudly? My little Dudders is such a good little boy he never screams like that!" she replied pompously.

"Maybe that's because he's just lost his mum?" Rose challenged, starting to get a little bit annoyed by Petunia's appalling attitude.

"Yes, of course, if you ask me the world's a much better place without freaks like them clogging it up. Good riddance!"

"For Your Information I Didn't Ask Your Opinion." Rose seethed, "I couldn't give a damn what you think. Now let me see my poor little nephew," she demanded.

"You've changed your tune! Just yesterday you couldn't wait to force him on us what's changed?"

"What on earth do you mean? I know you too well Petunia, I would NEVER leave a wizard or witch under your care, even in my worst nightmares."

"That conversation you had with that Dumble-fool before he left the freak on our doorstep with only a letter! Can you imagine my horror to find the brat on my doorstep with only a bloody letter explaining that my stupid sister and her husband _only_ got themselves _blown up_ and left their freak to my care! MY CARE! Poor Vernon nearly had a heart attack at the news. And then _you_ turn up the next day, demanding to see the freak, only 24 hours after you told that fool 'oh no I can't take care of the boy, no I'm far too young and inexperienced. I know! You should dump him off at Petunia's with just a letter for explanation!' Yes that sounds like a perfect plan doesn't it Primrose!" Petunia ranted.

"I don't know what you're talking about! Dumbledore's not contacted me and I've not contacted him, though I certainly will be following this! I found out that our dear sister died from some wizards talking about it in the café where I work! You imagine that! It's like finding out from a customer at work that Dudley died!," Rose ranted back, "whatever Dumbledore's told you about me is absolutely not true at all and trust me I will be having words with him! Anyway that doesn't matter right now. As you're obviously _so_ put out by looking after Harry I'll take him. Once and for all, right now. I'll get him out of your hair. You won't even have to see me again to sign any custody forms - I'll sort that out for you. Now how does that sound? Pretty good I imagine."

Petunia stood at the door with her mouth hanging wide open, obviously not expecting that response.

"Well hurry up then," Rose chided, "I'm waiting to see my nephew."

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Petunia reluctantly let Rose into her oh-so-perfect house, insisting that she took her shoes off on the doormat, as expected.

When Petunia went to collect Harry Rose noticed that she turned left, when the stairs to the bedrooms were on the right.

"Where are you going? Isn't Harry in a bedroom upstairs?" Rose asked.

At this Petunia faltered. "Um no, he's this way, I'll just get him."

"I'll come with you then," Rose informed her.

Petunia knew she wouldn't be able to get out of this one, remembering how stubborn Rose was from their childhood together. So she reluctantly lead the way to the cupboard-under-the-stairs.

As Petunia put her hand over the door handle Rose finally _had to_ say something. "Why are you going into a cupboard? I thought you were getting Harry, not his things?"

"Um, well, you see" Petunia started blandly and then stopped suddenly, as if deciding that not answering Rose's question would calm her down.

"That's not-" Rose stopped, dead in her tracks as the door to the cupboard opened.

 **A moments pause.**

Then...

"What the hell is Harry doing in a cupboard? On a mattress no less! Why has he got a red mark on one cheek and tears streaming down his face? What have you been doing to him? He's your nephew! Your own flesh and blood! I'm sure your precious Dudley is upstairs in his own spacious room with an _actual_ cot and his own toys! You have a lot to answer for Petunia Dursley!" Rose shrieked.

"How dare you compare him to Dudley! The brat is a freak! A stupid freak who got dropped on us after his parents went and got themselves killed! Nothing good ever comes of freaks! We've done more than enough for him already. We've taken him in out of the kindness of our hearts, fed and changed him. More than enough!" Petunia ranted.

"How _dare you_ call him a freak because he possesses talents you and I don't. You're just jealous and you know it. Lily told me about your letter begging Professor Dumbledore to accept you at Hogwarts. And how can you honestly say you've taken him in out of the kindness of your hearts? For starters you obviously don't have a heart to treat an innocent baby so cruelly, especially after he's just lost both his parents! And secondly you've not even provided him with the basic human rights - under the 1966 Child Protection Act you've not provided him with a sufficient place to sleep, which is classed as an insufficient shelter and a form of child abuse. And don't even get me started on that red handprint on his cheek!" Rose ranted at her sister. "You know what, I've had enough of you and your stupid views! I'm going and I'm taking Harry with me. Right now."

And with that she carefully picked up Harry, turned on her heel, put her shoes on, and left No. 4 Privet Drive, thanking the Gods that she'd got Harry out of that hell-hole, and that she'd kept her temper enough in check not to slap Petunia as she had been _so_ tempted to do.

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 **A/N: Thanks once again to all the follows, favourites and reviews! I can't believe so many people have read and liked this story in only 3 chapters!!**

 **And just so you know I made that bit up about the 1966 Child Protection Act just so it works with the story. If you're surprised that a 19-year-old knows all that then remember that Rose is doing an apprenticeship at a law firm, as she's hoping to be a lawyer. This bit of information will be important later on in the story!**

 **To my reviewers:**

 **bluepillfanfic -** Haha yes that fun will come up within the next few of chapters!

 **LambdaOfTheDead** \- Thank you! Glad you're enjoying it!

 **F.maiden** \- He's here!! He'll feature a lot more in future chapters!

 **kirstywilson2004** \- Glad you like it!

 **Please follow, favourite and review!**


	5. Chapter 5, Going home with Harry

**Chapter 5, Going home with Harry**

 **Monday 2nd November**

 **10:57 am, public bus**

"...no way to treat a child,"

"Oh absolutely, in fact, it's despicable. Young life should be cherished not abused," stated the old woman, who was glaring rather harshly in Rose's direction. It was then that Rose jumped with surprise that those old biddies were talking about her, and dear little Harry.

 _Oh bloody hell,_ Rose thought, _I'm really not in the mood to deal with them nattering on about me. Can't they keep their bloody noses to themselves?_

"Of course, of course" they carried on.

"How horrid for the poor child, have you seen that finger mark on his face?"

 _Oh no they didn't..._

"Yes it's utterly horrid, TO SLAP A BABY!" the old woman shrieked as though it was her life's goal to make Rose understand that slapping a baby is not the right thing to do.

"Mummy, my arm's hurting," wailed a seven year old little girl in school uniform.

"Oh darling it'll get better soon. We're nearly at your school now."

 _Rose's patience was gradually wearing thinner and thinner._

"And don't get me started on those rags she calls clothes. They're about 4 sizes too big, the poor little boy."

 _They'd better shut up sharpish._ Rose thought. _I cannot stand this for another_... she looked at her watch... _oh no, another bloody_ _10 minutes! Come on bus hurry up!_

"Oh I know! How parenting standards have changed so dramatically from back in the day. Back in our day this would not have gone, oh no. The authorities would have been knocking on the door, taking the child away before you could even ask why they were there in a situation as dire as this!"

 _Have you quite finished yet?_ Rose asked in her head. She really didn't want to cause a scene on the bus, but then again she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep that renowned temper of hers hidden away.

"Absolutely, like I said I think it's despicable how society are letting, well..only children themselves, get away with bringing up the next generation. They're our future you know! Goodness knows where we'll be in 20 years if people like _her_ carry on treating their kids like that."

 _Count back from 10 Rose, come on, try and calm down now..._

 _10_

 _9_

 _8_

"Yes she should be ashamed of herself. She's only, how old, 17 perhaps..."

"Mummy, who are they talking about?" the seven year old asked, now listening intently to the old women.

 _I'm 19 actually..._

"Yes I would think so"

"Well no wonder society's like this if we're letting children get pregnant and spawning at 16 - they're still in school themselves and by far not old enough to raise a child!"

 _7_

 _6_

"Yes of course. She should know better than to open her legs to any old boy and save it for someone special and at a sensible age! She's-"

 _How dare they talk about my (non-existent) sex life in public!_

 _5_

"Mummy," the little girl tapped incessantly on her mum's arm, now fed up of being ignored, "what's wrong with opening your legs?"

"Um uh um uh... nothing to worry about sweetheart."

 _4_

-obviously not been taught any sort of decorum by her own parents. Shame on them!-"

 _Oh they're going to wish they'd kept their bloody mouths shut!_

 _3_

"But Mummy, I'm a big girl, I want to know grown up things!"

"Not now Rhi."

 _2_

"-You'd have thought they would steer her in the right direction of how to treat a child though! To slap a baby! I can't believe she has the nerve to bring him on a _public_ bus and act as though everything is fine! She's a stain on society!"

 _That was the final straw..._

WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP!" Rose roared at the two old biddies, "You don't know anything I've been through! He's not even my son!"

At this the two women looked startled and suddenly rather sheepish as the falseness of their previous words kicked in.

"Yeah, I bet you didn't know that did you! He's the son of my dear late sister and her late husband who were murdered two days ago at 21 years old!" Rose paused for effect, still fuming.

"Murder... does that mean a nasty man wants to kill me Mummy?" The little girl asked, rather scared.

"Only if you keep on talking."

(silence)

At this you could have heard a pin drop and the women looked deeply ashamed of themselves.

"And the mark on his cheek is from my other _dear sister_ , who was nominated as his carer, until her and her husband turned out to be abusive!"

Utterly mortified, would be how you'd now describe the elderly women.

While a woman in her late 20s towards the back of the bus was sat on the edge of her seat with a look of pure glee on her face at the oh-so-exciting drama unfolding right before her eyes. Her beady eyes danced between watching that courageous young woman and those old biddies, looking embarrassed to the core. She soaked up everything that was happening as though she couldn't _wait_ for the fascinating dinner-table conversation this would make.

Yes they should have kept their mouths shut, but this is severe public humiliation despite what they said.

"So I, at the _age of 19_ , mind you, _not 17_ , went to my sister's, the abusive one that is, house to see if she knew why my other sister hadn't been replying, to find my nephew LIVING ON A SPRINGY MATRESS IN THEIR CUPBOARD UNDER THE STAIRS, having not been informed of my sister and her husband's murders!"

Both women, looked like they would now rather be in a den of lions than facing either this fearsome young women or the utter public humiliation, let alone both at once.

"O-oh my goodness my poor d-dear we're so sorry, w-we had no idea..."

The bell dinged

"No, of course you didn't," Rose replied with a look towards them that clearly said 'duh, don't judge a book by its cover next time'. And with that she muttered her thanks to the bus driver and got off the bus (with Harry of course) in the town centre; leaving the bus in complete silence with the two old women trembling in their seats.

"Can I talk now Mummy? Has the bad man gone away?" whispered Rhi.

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 **A/N: Hi guys, so sorry I've not updated in so long. It took me absolutely ages to plan what direction I wanted the story to go after Privet Drive, but the good news is that I'm on a role now and I've got the next few chapters all planned out and ready to write! So the next update should be within the next few days, if you're all still with me!**

 **With this chapter I was trying to give the inpression that many people were talking/thinking at once so I hope this wasn't too confusing to read. Please let me know either way what you thought!**

 **As always, to my reviewers:**

 **LambdaOfTheDead -** Haha totally! I've planned that out and you should see it in about 2 chapters time!

 **bluepillfanfic -** Glad you're still enjoying it!

 **city bookworm -** Haha definitely! What does that say about 'genius' Dumbledore...!

 **lun27** \- Thank you!


	6. Chapter 6, A crucial discovery

**A/N: Sorry! I know it's been longer than a few days, unfortunately I've had technical issues and not had access to the internet for a while but luckily it's all sorted now.**

 **To my reviewers:**

 **lovergirl099: I'm glad you're enjoying it! Please let me know what you think of this chapter!**

 **LambdaOfTheDead: I'm glad you're still with me! Thanks for your support!**

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 **Chapter 6, A crucial discovery**

 **Monday 2nd November**

 **11:02**

"Phew, thank goodness that's over, eh Harry," Rose said in relief as she walked into the town's mother and baby shop. "I can't believe the nerve of those women. I couldn't stand them a minute longer," she added, shaking her head and tutting slightly.

Harry mimicked her.

"Aw you sure know how to lighten the atmosphere don't you little man," Rose said, laughing, seemingly forgetting everything that just happened and focusing on the task at hand. "We'd best get some things for you now. What to get first? I'm thinking a pram so I can put you down - my arms could do with a rest!"

Rose wandered over to the prams and spent a few minutes looking at them. Suddenly her concentration was broken:

"Hello, my name is Caroline, can I help you with anything?" a friendly looking shop assistant asked.

"Yes please," Rose responded, changing Harry to her other side - who knew one year olds were so heavy! "I need to buy all the daily essentials for Harry here, he's 15 months old."

"Ok, not a problem, we have a list of all the products we recommend for children at 15 months old, I can get one for you if you'd like?"

"Yes please, that sounds like just what I need."

10 minutes later and Caroline had explained the differences between all the available prams. Rose decided on a black one as it would be suitable for all future children she may have (whether boys or girls), as unlikely as that may seem now. But then again, she hardly expected to be the full time carer of a one year old when she had just turned 19, so who knows what the future may hold, she thought to herself.

The trio carried on around the shop, ticking things off the list.

 _Changing table_

 _Nappies_

 _Baby clothes_

When they got to the high chair section, Rose asked Harry which one he preferred, the one on the right or the left. She wasn't really expecting a proper response, seeing as Harry had yet to say one word, but thought she'd try anyway. Truth be told, she was considering if they needed to visit a speech and language therapist. She didn't think it was normal for a one year old to be silent the entire time. But then again what did she know about babies? Her worse fears were that he'd been profoundly affected by all the trauma he had experience within the last couple of days. There had obviously been some sort of attack on Harry, judging by that nasty looking scar. She knew that Lily would have mentioned it in one of her letters else, so Rose deduced there must have been an attack that gave it to him. In addition, he had suffered physical and mental trauma at the Dursleys, including severe neglect. So Rose was really rather concerned about Harry and his health. However she decided the best thing to do at the moment was to do what she could to care for Harry. And in the present that meant deciding on which high chair she should buy.

So she was really rather shocked when Harry did respond to her. Although it was not a response she was expecting. At. All.

"Mama?" questioned Harry.

Rose just stared at Harry in shock while her brain whirred away.

 _How could he think I'm his mother? I'm not Lily! Does he not know what happened to her?_

All of a sudden logic seemed to entered Rose's mind.

 _Of course he doesn't know what happened, you daft fool. You can't have expected Petunia to tell him, can you now? And besides, have you looked at yourself in a mirror lately? You do look rather like Lily. The straight ginger hair of a similar length, you're only 4 inches shorter than Lily is, err...was, and she was slim just like you too. You really can't expect a one year old boy to tell you apart, come on now._

"Mama?" Harry questioned again, obviously not too sure why his 'mama' was staring at him and not responding.

Rose realised that sometime during her mental conversation she'd started crying, over the loss of Lily and James and how unfair it was that Harry wouldn't even remember them. It was at that moment that she vowed to herself to give Harry the best upbringing possible and to shower him in as much love as she could, despite her young age. She would do anything for him to be happy.

"Oh it's so lovely when your child says their first word isn't it. It's such an important milestone!" Caroline practically bounced up and down, "I'm sure you'd like a moment to yourselves, I'll go and get some tissues for you."

 _I forgot she was still here! And now she thinks I'm getting emotional over his first word! Great. Not._

"No Harry darling, I'm Aunty Rose, can you say that for me?"

"An-ny R-o?" Harry tried.

"Yes that's it, well done Harry!"

"Where Mama and Dada?"

"Mama and Dada had to go away but I'm here for you Harry"

"They back soon?" Harry asked, looking up at Rose with those gorgeous green eyes, heartbreakingly reminding her of Lily.

"Oh darling, they've gone away for a long time"

"But they leave me? Mama and Dada not luv me?" Harry's bottom lip trembled.

Hearing this breaks Rose's heart and she forgets trying to hide her tears now. "Oh Harry darling, they love you so so much but they had to go away. They didn't want to leave you but they had to. They'll always be watching us though."

Harry looks around, as though expecting Lily and James to jump out from behind the shelves, like a game of hide and seek.

"But they not here?"

"No Harry, they've gone to live in up the sky, in a place called Heaven, so they can see us but we can't see them."

"Oh" Harry says with a puzzled look on his face. "S-eye is pwetty, me go to pwetty s-eye?"

"You've got to stay with me for now sweetheart, but one day you'll go and live in the sky like Mama and Dada." Harry seemed to accept this, at least for now and Rose hugged him close to her chest.

"Here you are Rose," Caroline said.

"Thank you," Rose sniffed.

"Are you alright?" Caroline asked tentatively, "I heard you say his parents are in Heaven. That must be extremely tough on both of you. I'm presuming you're his new carer?"

"Yes I am, and it's so difficult to come to terms with. I only found out yesterday that they'd... that they'd died - they were only 21! And I only got Harry an hour ago. I have no idea how to look after a child for a day, let alone a lifetime!"

"Oh my goodness, that sounds dreadful," Caroline replied, bringing Rose in for a hug. "You poor dear. Do you know what happened to them?"

"No idea" Rose bluntly responded.

"Oh?" Caroline questioned.

Rose sighed deeply, "I've no idea. You see, my... well what do I call him... my great-uncle - of sorts - somehow discovered what happened to poor James and Lily - that's my sister and her husband - and obviously found Harry alive. Now I found out yesterday, by total chance, what happened and wondered why I'd not been informed. So I did the only thing I could think of - today I went to my other sister Petunia's house, to see if she knew anything. Oh and let's remember here that Lily and Petunia haven't spoken in nearly 3 years. That's 3 YEARS, because of a deep family argument, and I find that Dumbledore, that's my great-uncle, had dropped Harry on her doorstep, with only a letter for explanation! And the bastard hadn't even bothered to inform me at all! It turns out that Petunia is incapable of letting go of her grudge against Lily, and she and her husband punished sweet little Harry because of it. I mean, who makes a baby sleep on a mattress in the cupboard under the stairs and then slaps them when they cry because they're in a strange place with strange people, and they've just lost their parents??!! And they have a toddler son themselves - they know how to care for a child! I couldn't let them get away with abusing Harry even more. So I just took him and left. And came straight here to buy supplies for him. So in answer to your question, I have no idea, but I'm going to give that twat Dumbledore a piece of my mind!"

"You can't be serious? They actually treated a child that way? That's horrific, you ought to report them to the police you know. What if they turn on their own son?"

"I'd not thought of that with everything going on. Although I doubt they'd turn on their precious Dudley."

"You really should consider it, that's despicable behaviour, they ought to be punished."

"You're probably right. I don't know if I can deal with that at the moment though, what with looking after Harry, dealing with Dumbledore, finding out what happened to James and Lily, planning their funeral, contacting their friends. You know I can't believe Sirius still hasn't replied, why on earth wouldn't he...

OH MY GOSH THAT'S IT! Lily said... the Fidelius... Peter their secret keeper. That nasty piece of... he's sold them to Voldemort! It's all his fault!," Rose's tears were now streaming down her face, "Oh no! That's even worse... Sirius the decoy... Noooo they will have arrested him and he's innocent and I'm the only one who knows! Now, how on earth do I get into the Ministry of Magic? Hmm"

"Rose?"

 _Oh no! Don't tell me I just said the Ministry of Magic out loud - TO A MUGGLE?! What on earth have you got yourself into now Rose you idiot!"_

"Yes"

"Did you just say the Ministry of Magic?"

Rose made an odd sort of grunting noise.

"Are you feeling alright? I know you've had a lot of distressing news to take in recently, why don't you take a seat and I'll hold Harry for you. It must be so hard for you right now, trying to figure everything out. Shall I pick out the rest of the products on the list while you stay here?"

"No, no I could do with something normal to focus on, I can't just sit here with everything mulling around my mind feeling useless. Picking products should take my mind off of things. Thank you though."

"Not a problem, so did you want to go with this high chair? It's very good for..."

The trio continued to make their way around the shop, deciding on all the products that Rose would need for Harry. They got to the till and Rose was utterly gobsmacked at the price - who knew babies were so expensive? But she knew she needed it all for Harry. She thanked the gods for the relatively recent invention of credit cards, because she sure didn't have that much in cash! The cash she had on her would only have bought the two baby blankets, the small brown teddy bear and three packets of disposable nappies and as Rose quickly learnt a one year old needs much more than that!

Once Rose had purchased everything, her and Caroline loaded up the new pram and managed to make almost everything fit in the storage compartment at the bottom. Caroline closed the shop for a short while to help Rose carry her purchases to the bus stop and they detoured en route to the toilets, where Caroline taught Rose how to change Harry's nappy. She told Rose how she was well practiced from babysitting her sister's two young children and then they changed Harry into clean clothes, rather than the rags Petunia had left him in.

Once at the bus stop Rose thanked Caroline for all of her help and they arranged to meet up for a chat and coffee at Rose's house the following week.

 _All in all,_ Rose thought, _that wasn't a bad shopping trip at all (despite my meltdown, of course). I'm really glad I met Caroline, she's so kind and caring, and knowledgable about young children. I reckon we could quite possibly become fast friends._

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 **A/N: What did you think? Please review and let me know!**

 **Next chapter: Rose deals with Dumbledore!**


	7. Chapter 7, Dumbledore's Dilemma

**A/N: Sorry, I know it's been ages again, but I assure you I do not intend to abandon this story, even if I take a long time to upload. My original plan of updating once a week is obviously not very realistic, so I'm amending my update schedule to once or twice a month. I'm hoping that this will be more realistic and I'll therefore update more regularly. Thanks to all of you for sticking with me and a massive thanks to everyone who followed, favourited and reviewed! Here's to my reviewers:**

 **tripmight: Thanks for the review, I've re-read the last chapter and she does figure it out quite quickly doesn't she! I think I wrote it like that to emphasise how intelligent Rose is and also to move the story along onto this chapter, which I had a lot of fun writing! In regards to Remus I plan for him to have quite a major role, but I reckon it'll be a few chapters before he arrives on the scene!**

 **The Three Stoogies: Thank you very much!**

 **LambdaOfTheDead: Thank you so much, that's really lovely to hear!**

 **tabea.koegl: Thank you! Good thinking, you may be right ;) I think the real question is why he's thinking like that! In this chapter Dumbledore's 'plan' is referred to several times and it's all related to that!**

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 **Chapter 7, Dumbledore's Dilemma**

 **Tuesday 3rd November 1981**

 **18:19**

Albus Dumbledore was in a wonderful mood as he strolled down the corridor towards the Great Hall, whistling an old Muggle tune called Greensleves. He had had a marvellous day, predominantly due to his success at convincing Crouch that there was no need to waste time giving Black a trial seeing as the evidence was stacked against him as both a mass-murderer and servant to the Dark Lord. Crouch had soaked up every word that Dumbledore had said without a flicker of disagreement, henceforth why Dumbledore was so happy. He had at least been expecting a bit of resistance, but alas, he had overestimated Crouch. What a gullible idiot!

The other reason why Albus Dumbledore was in such a good mood was a much lighter one. He had discovered that the house eleves had made his all-time favourite meal for tonight's dinner - steak and ale pie, with lemon tart for dessert. All in all, Dumbledore was thinking that this could well be one of his best days in a long time.

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 **18:44, Great Hall**

Dinner was in full swing and Albus Dumbledore was in the middle of a conversation with Filius about how his Seventh Year students were picking up the NEWT material so quickly.

All of a sudden the loud chatter of the students stopped, and instead turned into murmurs of surprise.

"Woah! I wonder who it's for?"

"I want to know what they've done first!"

"It must be something terrible to have one at dinner time, in front of the whole school!"

"Oh my gosh it's heading towards the staff table"

"WHAT, no way!"

"It is, look!"

"Why on earth would anyone send a Howler to the staff? They're adults!"

"It's probably Snape's mummy telling him to ease off on us with that awful mood!" suggested a Sixth Year Gryffindor.

His friends burst into laughter and started clapping him on the back.

"Haha, good one mate. This is gonna be a right laugh."

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Albus Dumbledore looked up and his eyes widdened.

The unknown owl had dropped the Howler in his food. HIS food.

 _Who on earth has sent me a Howler? The last time I got one of those I was still a teenager. Why didn't they just send their message in a letter like any normal person? I can't think of anything that I've done that would warrant a Howler, aside from Black of course, but he's locked up anyway._

The Howler started smoking. Dumbledore made eye contact with a smirking Sixth Year Gryffindor whose friends were laughing and clapping him on the back.

 _Ah of course! That's it, it's a prank. Thank goodness! No wonder those Sixth Years are looking like they've just been given an Order of Merlin, not even the Marauders thought of sending me a Howler, let alone in front of the whole school! I'll let them have their fun, it's only a harmless prank after all._

Suddenly the Howler burst open and started shrieking.

ALBUS PERCIVAL WULFRIC BRIAN DUMBLEDORE 

_My full name! How did the Sixth Years find that out?_

HOW DARE YOU KEEP THE DEATH OF MY SISTER AND HER HUSBAND FROM ME.

WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT THEY'D BEEN MURDERED 3 DAYS AGO

YOU DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO COME AND SEE ME

 _Blimey! It's Primrose Evans! She's sent me a Howler in front of the entire school? Good grief, this is not going to go down well. Avada me now!_

DID YOU EXPECT ME TO NOT REALISE THAT THEY WEREN'T RESPONDING TO MY MESSAGES?

HOW THICK ARE YOU?

I AM BEYOND FURIOUS WITH YOU AND I'M EXPECTING ANSWERS

I FOUND OUT FROM STRANGERS WHILST AT WORK THAT MY SISTER HAD DIED

TRY AND IMAGINE WHAT THAT MUST FEEL LIKE FOR ONE SECOND

AND THEN I WENT TO MY OTHER SISTER'S HOUSE - THE ONE WHO YOU LEFT A BABY ON HER DOORSTEP - DOES THAT RING A BELL?

AND I FOUND MY NEPHEW, HARRY POTTER, LIVING IN THE CUPBOARD UNDER THE STAIRS ON A SPRINGY MATRESS

AND WHAT WAS WORSE WAS THAT HE HAD TEARS STREAMING DOWN HIS LITTLE FACE AND THAT PIECE OF DIRT THAT IS MY SISTER AND HER HUSBAND HAD LEFT A RED HANDPRINT ON HIS CHEEK FROM WHERE THEY'D SLAPPED HIM

 _No, no, no! How does she know that? She cannot have just told all the students and staff in Hogwarts! No!_

THEY SLAPPED A BABY WHO'S PARENTS HAD JUST BEEN MURDERED AND WHO'D BEEN LEFT ON A DOORSTEP ALL NIGHT

HOW COULD YOU PUT HIM WITH THEM - THEY'RE ABUSIVE DUMBLEDORE, ABUSIVE!

 _Sweet Merlin! Can this get any worse?_

BUT I'M NOT DONE YET DUMBLEDORE, AND ANYONE ELSE LISTENING, OH NO I HAVE MUCH MORE TO SAY

YOU SEE WHEN I CONFRONTED PETUNIA I FOUND AN INTERESTING LITTLE FACT

YOU, ALBUS DUMBLEDORE HAD LIED TO HER, TELLING HER THAT YOU HAD SPOKEN TO ME AND I HAD REFUSED TO BE HARRY'S GUARDIAN AND THAT I HAD SUGGESTED THAT PETUNIA SHOULD LOOK AFTER HIM AS SHE ALREADY HAS A YOUNG SON

YOU MANIPULATIVE, LYING OLD BASTARD

 _No! Please don't tell me everyone heard that! How am I going to explain this? Oh goodness, Filius does not look pleased. At all._

 _Oh no! If looks could kill then Minerva would already be in Azkaban! Sweet Merlin, I told Minerva that Primrose had refused guardianship, and now she knows the truth. No! What am I going to do now? Stupid, stupid Evans._

YOU AND I ARE WELL AWARE OF THE SITUATION, BUT I THINK OUR LISTENERS WOULD LIKE SOME CLARIFICATION, DON'T YOU DUMBLEDORE?:

DUMBLEDORE HAD NOT EVEN INFORMED ME OF LILY AND JAMES' DEATHS

I WAS NOT OFFERED GUARDIANSHIP OF HARRY

DUMBLEDORE KNEW THAT LILY AND PETUNIA HAD NOT SPOKEN IN 3 YEARS

AND LILY AND I WERE IN CONTACT RIGHT UP UNTIL HER DEATH

SO I'LL CLARIFY: DUMBLEDORE LEFT HARRY POTTER WITH HIS ABUSIVE AUNT WHO HATES MAGIC AND HADN'T SPOKEN TO HIS PARENTS IN 3 YEARS WHEN LILY AND I WERE CLOSER THAN BEST FRIENDS, I KNOW AS MUCH ABOUT THE MAGICAL WORLD AS LILY DID, AND I LOVE MY ADORABLE LITTLE NEPHEW MORE THAN ANYTHING

I COULD DO WITH SOME HELP IN FIGURING THIS ONE OUT

 _That's just perfect! Could she have stated that anymore clearly? I can't pull off the whole 'you don't understand what really happened'_ _excuse now!_

OH BUT THERE'S MORE

 _More! MORE! How can there be anything else to damage my reputation?_

I'M SURE YOU'RE ALL AWARE OF THE NAME SIRIUS BLACK, AND IF I'M CORRECT THEN YOU ALL THINK HE'S SOME EVIL DEATH EATER WHO SOLD LILY AND JAMES TO VOLDEMORT

 _Bugger! I'd forgotten about Black! She can't possibly know that though. At least I convinced the Potters not to tell anyone of their true Secret Keeper._

YOU WOULD ALL BE WRONG

SIRIUS WAS JAMES AND LILY'S BEST FRIEND AND DID NOT BETRAY THEM TO VOLDEMORT

NOW I'M NOT SO SURE IF YOU'VE HEARD OF PETER PETTIGREW, YOU KNOW THAT SMALL CHUBBY BOY, WHO WAS ALWAYS TAGGING ALONG WITH JAMES, SIRIUS AND THEIR OTHER BEST FRIEND REMUS

WELL, PETER PETTIGREW WAS THEIR SECRET KEEPER AND WAS THE ONE WHO BETRAYED THEM TO VOLDEMORT

SIRIUS WAS THE DECOY, NOT THE ACTUAL SECRET KEEPER!

 _Damn, she knows! At least she can't implicate me with this, thank goodness._

SIRIUS IS COMPLETELY INNOCENT, HE WOULD NEVER BETRAY LILY AND JAMES

IF YOU'RE WONDERING HOW I KNOW THIS, THAT'S BECAUSE LILY TOLD ME BEFORE HER DEATH

 _Damn you Lily Potter, why did you have to tell your idiot sister?_

I NEED TO BE OFF SOON, BUT ONE MORE THING BEFORE I GO:

DUMBLEDORE KNEW ALL ALONG THAT PETER WAS THE SECRET KEEPER AND THAT SIRIUS IS INNOCENT

 _Shit. How is the name of Merlin can she know that? Now I really am dead. Minerva alone will make sure of that by the look on her face. Someone please Avada me now._

I'LL BE WAITING FOR YOUR RESPONSE DUMBLEDORE

OH AND I'LL BE VISITING THE PROPHET ON FRIDAY IF I'VE NOT HEARD BACK FROM YOU BY THEN. I IMAGINE THEY'LL BE VERY INTERESTED IN MY STORY, DON'T YOU?

And with that the Howler exploded while the whole Great Hall stayed frozen in shock.

A few seconds later all the students started talking and shouting in shock at what they had just heard. Whilst Dumbledore was sat in his seat with his mouth hanging open in shock, literally. His brain was whirring away.

 _How in Merlin's name did she find out? That was not part of the plan! And then she had the nerve to send me a Howler! A Howler! In front of the whole student body and all the staff! How on earth am I going dig myself out of this one? All the staff are going to want answers, so does Evans and then there's the whole student body to deal with! Oh goodness, the first thing the students are going to do will be to write home to their families 'You'll never guess what Professor Dumbledore, leader of the light, did Mummy and Daddy! He made the Boy-who-Lived live with abusive muggles! And apparently Sirius Black is innocent and Dumbledore knew!' Oh yes, that would go down a treat for my reputation. Sweet Merlin! What if one of the Slytherins were to write to the Daily Prophet with this story? It would certainly make the front page. No, I cannot allow that. Time to come up with some ways to restrict the damage to my reputation. Hmm..._

"ALBUS!" shouted Professor McGonagall, trying to get his attention for the fourth time, "a word."

Dumbledore paled as he remembered where he was and what had just been revealed, yet he made no move to get up out of his seat.

"NOW!" barked Professor McGonagall, her lips drawn into such a thin line they had almost disappeared and her eyes showed only blazing anger.

"I wish to join you Minerva," said Professor Sprout.

"Me too," squeaked Professor Flitwick in such a high voice it would have been comical had it not been for the pure anger in his eyes.

"Myself also," added Professor Snape, with a look of utter distaste aimed at Dumbledore.

"Of course," Professor McGonagall replied, "Aurora, watch the students while we discuss this... unexpected situation... if you will. Keep them all in here until we have returned."

And with that Professor McGonagall stalked out of the Great Hall, followed by Professors Dumbledore, Sprout, Flitwick and Snape.

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 **A/N: Ooh a bit of a cliffhanger! What will McGonagall and the others do to Dumbledore? Will his secrets (not so secret now!) be exposed to the entire Wizarding World, or will he manage to confine them within the walls of Hogwarts? And how will he deal with Rose? All this to come soon! Also to come soon, how did Rose send him a Howler when she's a Muggle? Is she really a Muggle?**

 **I would love to hear your thoughts so please review!**


	8. Chapter 8 I'd prefer the Cruciatus curse

**A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who favourited, followed and reviewed! I can't believe I've got over 100 follows and 65 favourites in only 7 chapters of this story! As a thank you for reaching 100 follows I've made this chapter extra long - it's 4,200 words compared to my usual 2,000! I hope you enjoy and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!**

 **Thanks to everyone who reviewed Chapter 7 - that's the most reviews I've ever had for one chapter! Here's my responses:**

 **FlowerChild23 - Thanks for reviewing, I'm so glad you're enjoying it!**

 **Nougat-XP - Thank you that's very kind. I'm afraid it takes me a while to update but I don't have any plans to give up writing this story!**

 **tripmight - Thank you! Hopefully this chapter might give a small insight into all the fuss the Howler will cause!**

 **Rohirrim Girl 2187 - You're right - she is utterly furious! I hope that comes across in this chapter!**

 **LambdaOfTheDead - Thank you so much, that's really lovely to hear! And thank you for reviewing again!**

 **J'apprends le français, donc si tu veux tu peux écrire en français. Ce serait une très bonne pratique pour moi! J'espère que tu peux comprendre mon français!**

 **tabea.koegl - Thank you for reviewing again! That's really kind of you to say!**

 **Hachiko33200 - Thank you for reviewing! I don't want to give any spoilers yet but tha is certainly an interesting way to look at things!**

 **Yaw613 - Thank you for reviewing, I'm so glad you like it!**

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 **Chapter 8,** **I'd prefer the Cruciatus curse**

 **Tuesday 3rd November 1981**

 **18:50, Dumbledore's Office**

The Headmaster of Hogwarts and the four Heads of Houses speedily made their way to Dumbledore's Office. One man, because he wanted to get what was sure to be torture worse than the Cruciatus curse over as quickly as possible, and the other four were spurred on by their varying degrees of anger at the aforementioned man.

As soon as they arrived in the office, the face of the woman named Minerva McGonagall visibly expressed her anger at the guilty man, Albus Dumbledore. Her lips were even thinner than they were in the Great Hall, and her anger was so strong that it was nearly tangible. She immediately rounded on Dumbledore.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING ALBUS? HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL PRIMROSE ABOUT HER OWN FAMILY'S DEATHS? HOW COULD YOU GIVE HARRY TO THOSE HORRIFIC MUGGLES AND NOT OFFER GUARDIANSHIP TO PRIMROSE? THEY ABUSED HIM ALBUS, ABUSED HIM! WHAT IF PRIMROSE HADN'T FOUND HARRY THERE AND HE HAD BEEN ABUSED FOR THE NEXT TEN YEARS OF HIS LIFE UNTIL HE CAME TO HOGWARTS AND NO-ONE WOULD BE ANY THE WISER. NO CHILD DESERVES A CHILDHOOD LIKE THAT, ESPECIALLY ONE WHO HAS BEEN ORPHANED AND LOST ALL CONTACT TO THE MAGICAL WORLD! I'M SURE THEY WOULDN'T HAVE TOLD HIM ABOUT MAGIC AND HOGWARTS! HE MIGHT NOT HAVE KNOWN ANYTHING ABOUT WHO HE IS AND HIS PARENTS! DO YOU REALISE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE ALBUS?"

"Now now Minerva, I'm sure you're overthinking things. I -"

"OVERTHINKING THINGS! I AM SPEECHLESS AT YOU ALBUS! YOU SHOW NO SIGNS OF REMORSE FOR THE SUFFERING HARRY POTTER, OUR SAVIOUR, COULD HAVE FACED BECAUSE OF YOUR ACTIONS! HOW CAN YOU ACT LIKE THAT?"

"Look Minerva I apologise for placing him with those Muggles, though I assure you that I had no idea things would be so bad for poor Harry. If I had known-"

"IF YOU HAD KNOWN! WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE THEN, EH ALBUS? IS YOUR OLD AGE CATCHING UP WITH YOU? HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN WHAT I SAID TO YOU? I SAID THAT YOU COULDN'T FIND PEOPLE MORE UNLIKE US AND THAT PRIMROSE - OR ANYONE BUT THEM - WOULD BE A MORE SUITABLE CARER FOR ANY CHILD, LET ALONE HARRY POTTER! HOW CAN YOU TELL ME YOU DIDN'T HAVE ANY IDEA? I WARNED YOU ALBUS AND I SEE NOW WHY YOU WERE SO VAGUE ABOUT PRIMROSE REJECTING YOUR OFFER OF GUARDIANSHIP - BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T OFFER IT TO HER IN THE FIRST PLACE! WHAT I REALLY WANT TO KNOW IS WHY YOU LIED THAT YOU'D OFFERED GUARDIANSHIP TO PRIMROSE WHEN YOU CLEARLY HAVEN'T AND WHAT'S MORE YOU HAD NO INTENTION TO DO SO!"

Dumbledore shamefully bowed his head to look at the floor - and to avoid making eye contact with Minerva. He would never admit it, but she was downright scary when she was this furious, especially when it was over the orphaned child of two of her favourite Gryffindors, and unfortunately directed at him.

"Well?" Minerva questioned.

Dumbledore remained silent.

"HURRY UP ALBUS, WE HAVEN'T GOT ALL DAY." She snapped, then paused. "On second thoughts, we have. We will remain here until you answer the question, and if that takes all night then so be it." She amended, raising her left eyebrow and tapping her foot in the process.

"Come now Minerva, I'm not one of your students, I'm sure we can sit down and talk about this like sophisticated adults."

"ARE YOU IMPLYING THAT I AM NOT SOPHISTICA- OH NEVER MIND THAT, YOU ARE JUST USING ANY SLY TACTIC TO AVOID THE REAL ISSUE. WHY DID YOU NOT OFFER GUARDIANSHIP TO PRIMROSE?"

"Um, well, I uh thought that she was too young to look after a child, let alone Harry Potter. She's several years younger than Lily was, you see and I thought that bringing up a child single-handed would be too much on one barely out of childhood herself."

"And you thought that deciding that without asking her opinion on the matter would be the right way to handle the situation?"

"Well, no, but... Well I suppose I did, didn't I?"

"It would certainly seem so," Minerva replied, her lips pursed. "And what answer do you have for why you did not bother to inform Primrose of her sister and brother-in-law's deaths?"

Dumbledore sighed. "I did not wish to admit this, as, well, it makes me feel weak, but I don't really know how to deal with crying women, so I thought it best to avoid the situation."

"So you decided to ignore the situation and not make arrangements for anyone to inform her of her family's deaths? How very adult of you Albus. Did you think she would accept that all communication with her sister suddenly stopped and that she would not question it?" Minerva interrogated.

"Minerva, perhaps you are being a little harsh on Albus? You seem to be interrogating him more thoroughly than the DMLE at a Death Eater's trial?" Pomona spoke up.

"I disagree Pomona, there is something he is hiding from us and I WILL get to the bottom of it." She turned back to Albus. "You could have dealt with the situation any number of ways. Even if you had not wished to admit your 'dreadful weakness' to one of us and asked us to explain the situation to her, there were other things you could have done. Now I wouldn't normally advise this, but seeing as you did this with Petunia it would not have been hard to write her a letter. What do you have to say about that?"

"What a good idea Minerva, I-"

"Hmph, well I would hardly call it a GOOD idea, but a better one than ignoring the issue anyhow. Why did you act so irresponsibly Albus? I know it is not like you to ignore the consequences of your actions. You forget I have worked with you for nearly 30 years."

"I can't really answer that I'm afraid Minerva."

"Can't or won't Albus?"

"Uh can't, I assure you Minerva I wasn't thinking straight and that's why I got myself into this mess."

"Hmph, I would have said you weren't thinking at all, but never mind for now. We have bigger issues to discuss, like what Primrose said about Sirius Black. I'm sure you remember that she said that he is innocently being framed for betraying the Potters to You-Know-Who. And even worse, she claims that you knew the truth Albus." Dumbledore paled significantly. "I've seen you working hard to get Sirius Black jailed for life." Dumbledore looked surprised at this. "Oh yes, I've been watching your actions, I know how you've publicly expressed your disapproval of Black, Albus. So what do you have to say about this?"

"My dear Minerva, I assure you that I knew nothing of the sort about Black being innocent until the Howler came. You must believe me Minerva, perhaps the girl is making things up for her own personal gain, although I could not answer why."

Minerva scoffed, "I must believe you Albus! Forgive me if I'm wrong but from where I stand you have given me very little motivation to trust you recently. Not telling Primrose about Lily and James' deaths, not offering her guardianship, LYING TO ME - your friend and colleague of 30 years that you had offered her guardianship, and placing Harry with abusive Muggles who detest magic when there were at least 10 others who would happily take him in and treat him like their own!" she ranted, "So excuse me for thinking that you've given me very little reason to put any trust in you whatsoever, let alone to believe you on something as big as this! Right now I think I trust Primrose's story above yours considering all your lies and immoral behaviour recently!"

"Oh Minerva, unfortunately you are right, I have made some grave mistakes recently. It is true, how can I expect you to believe me when I have not been very truthful as of late? Tell me what I can do to earn back your trust, if you will."

"I don't know where to begin Albus. Seeing as your past actions have already occurred, I suggest you start thinking about how you're going to rectify the situation, for your own sake more than anything else. You do realise that the whole of Hogwarts is aware of your mistakes, not just those of us in this room. Unless you want students telling their parents and their parents blabbing to the Prophet I would suggest you come up with a solution to avoid that situation. Oh and in addition I believe you ought to contact Primrose soon. I believe she may have a few things to say to you, face-to-face. Now I think I'll leave you to it Albus, as it appears you have lots to do," she responded curtly. She then promptly turned towards the office door and left, her robes swishing angrily behind her as a reminder of the trouble Albus had gotten himself into and how he had lost the trust of so many people.

A quiet "Albus," reminded Dumbledore that there were still three others with him in his office. Three others who probably all wished to shout at him like Minerva had.

"Yes," Dumbledore responded just as quietly, dreading what was to come.

"I would like you to know that I am in total agreement with Minerva, though I see no point in wasting our time by repeating what she said, so I will spare you the lecture," Filius said. "Though I would like to remind you that we have known you long enough that we can tell you are hiding something from us. It is not like you to give vague answers regarding your decisions, especially such important decisions regarding the guardianship of a child, and that child being Harry Potter, no less. So just be warned that we will be far from pleased if it turns out that their were motives behind your decisions that you have hidden from us today, Albus. And I suspect there may be."

Albus nodded, looking as though he was deep in thought.

"Now with that I will retire for the evening. Good night Pomona, Severus." Filius concluded, before he walked out much like Minerva had done minutes before.

Pomona and Severus looked at each other and Severus nodded, indicating that Pomona could go first. She took that as her cue, and stepped forward to say her part. "I am astonished at your apparent lack of judgement recently Albus, really I am. Though I must confess I am glad that this has come to light and that Primrose discovered how those other Muggles were treating poor little Harry, as I'm sure you are too. That is the main thing, that he is being treated well now, though it appears you have many people now questioning the integrity of your actions," she glanced at Severus, "It appears that Severus wishes to speak with you, so I will leave you to think about what I just said. I sincerely hope you learn from these mistakes Albus and use them to make better decisions for both yourself and others in the future. Good night." Pomona said, then she made her way out of the office and left Severus to speak with Dumbledore.

The two men in the room stayed in silence for a number of minutes. After a short while, Dumbledore, who had been getting more and more concerned over what Severus was going to say or do, broke the silence with a timid, "Severus".

"Albus," Severus responded curtly.

"Do you have anything to say to me?"

"Oh I have many things to say to you Albus. I am working out where to begin."

"Ah," Albus replied.

A short while later:

"I cannot believe that not only did you fail to keep Lily safe and alive, but you put the last remaining part of her - her only son, with Muggles who cannot stand the thought of magic. How could you put _her son_ with _them_? Do you know what they're like Albus? Have you even met Petunia?"

Albus shook his head.

"That's right, you haven't met her. Do you know why? She was invited to Lily's wedding to P-Potter. She refused to attend. She was invited to Lily's graduation, along with their parents. She refused to attend. Not because she was too busy or because she couldn't make the date, but because she was jealous. She IS jealous, even now, of magic and that Lily possessed it when she did not. Do you recall the letter she wrote to you when she was 13, begging to attend Hogwarts? That was out of jealousy too. She couldn't stand for her younger sister to be better than her, to have a talent that she did not, to be a part of a world that she was not part of. You forget that I have known Petunia since she was 12 years old Albus. I have watched her grow up to become more and more jealous of Lily and of magic. Lily was always so forgiving of the hurtful things that Petunia had said, but I saw how they affected her, and so did Primrose. So when you said that her son was living with her sister, of course I presumed you meant Primrose. I understand you may have thought she is too young to raise a child, she is only 19 years of age. But what I do not understand is why you did not inform Primrose that Lily had d-d-died. You know as well as I do Albus that you are far from oblivious - you may not have known the specific details, but you knew that Petunia and Lily were estranged and that Primrose and Lily were not. I haven't got any idea why you aimed to keep the truth from her, but I know that she will be wanting words with you and she will not hesitate to go to the Daily Prophet if you choose to ignore her. I suggest you choose how to deal with this situation wisely. Anyway, I am not looking to advise you on how to deal with your mistakes. My main concern is your choice of guardianship - how can you place a child with guardians who you know hate us and everything we stand for **and** guardians who you have never met to see how they feel about the situation. In fact, how did you hand her son over to them without meeting Petunia?"

There was silence for around half a minute.

"Well, I uh we didn't exactly hand him over you see Severus."

"What did you do?" Severus said in a dangerously quiet voice, indicating the strength of his anger.

"We uh wrapped him in a blanket and um uh left him on their doorstep with a letter to explain things."

"You did what?" Severus almost growled. "You left her son on a doorstep wrapped in a blanket? For how long?"

"Overnight, they found him in the morning though Severus."

"You left her son, a baby, outside on a doorstep for a whole night in November? Do you know how cold it is in November? He could have died from the cold! He-"

"Oh no Severus, we put a variety of heating charms around him that we knew would keep him warm enough, you have no need to worry."

"You keep on saying 'we', are you telling me that it was not just you?"

"No it was not just me, Minerva was with me too."

"Minerva! I cannot believe that she would- No, I can have words with her later. Right now I will deal with you. How could you do that to a baby Albus? Heating charms or not, many things could have happened to him - you don't know who could have walked by and taken him away to Merlin knows where! I do not understand _what_ you were thinking Albus," Severus replied in that quiet voice, his tone colder than ice.

"You are right of course Severus, I do not believe I was thinking at all."

"That is the first thing I have agreed with you about all night. But do not think you suddenly have my forgiveness and loyalty like before."

"Oh Severus, I am truly sorry I-"

"Trust works both ways Albus, you should know that. I told you everything, I became a spy at your request, I risked my life daily because you asked me to. You trusted me to feed the information from the Dark Lord to the Order and I did - we saved lives because of that information! I trusted you with one task - to keep Lily, and her family, alive and you failed! Then, you had one more task, a second chance to redeem my trust if you like - to keep her son safe and happy. That was it and you failed that too. It should not have been hard to keep a few people alive or to place a baby with a loving guardian who would not abuse it! You failed both Albus. For that you have lost my trust and my loyalty," Severus concluded. He then walked briskly out of the room with his robes swishing intimidatingly behind him.

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Meanwhile, Minerva sat at her desk mulling over everything she'd learnt that evening. She had so many emotions running through her in that one moment - anger, annoyance, worry, curiousity, gladness, guilt... the list could go on.

 _I'm still not convinced that Albus is being totally truthful. He's hiding something - I'm sure of it! I will uncover the truth, even if it's the last thing I do, though it will take time. I think at the moment the best thing to do would be to visit Primrose and little Harry. Oh, how I feel so guilty about leaving Harry on Petunia's doorstep. Why did I listen to Albus when he was so obviously wrong! Who in their right mind would say Petunia is the best available guardian for any child? Unless of course it's between Petunia and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. But anyway, that's beside the point. So I'll visit Primrose and Harry tomorrow morning, I do wonder how they are coping after the events of the last few days. In fact, I wonder how Primrose discovered what happened to Lily and James so quickly? And to become the guardian of Harry so quickly too! She's a force to be reckoned with if she can find information out and act on it that quickly._

 _Besides, how does she 'know' that Black is innocent of being the Secret Keeper? And to say that Albus knew too! Those are big claims to make in the Wizarding World, I hope she knows what she's doing. Though after Albus' mistakes recently I must say I'm more willing to believe her. How crazy does that sound - to believe a girl I've never met over my friend and colleague of 30 years!_

 _How can I help to uncover the truth? Ah, I know what I'll do! I'll set up a meeting with an Auror to discuss the possible innocence of Black. At the very least I can make sure they give him a fair trial. Oh how I hope that he's not proved innocent of being the Secret Keeper only to be jailed for life for killing 12 Muggles and a wizard. How unfair that would seem to be innocent of one crime yet guilty of another. Only time will tell._

 _Now to set up that meeting. Who with though? Not Auror Moody, he's a little too close with Albus for my liking, considering he's involved in this case. Auror Bones would normally be a good choice - she certainly makes a fine Auror, but this case is too personal for her. Ah! Auror Shacklebolt. He should do nicely - he's fair, well spoken, not too close to anyone concerned in the case. He'd listen to what I have to say without shooting it down straight away and he'd investigate it thoroughly. Good, he's a good choice._

After deciding which Auror to meet with she sent a Patronus to Auror Shacklebolt, requesting a meeting with him sometime tomorrow afternoon at his convenience, regarding a very important, confidential issue. She also requested that due to the nature of the issue at hand that he wouldn't tell anyone that it was her that he would be meeting.

He responded almost immediately that that would be no problem and that 16:00 suited him well, if it did her.

She responded thanking him and saying that she looked forward to seeing him at 16:00 tomorrow.

 _Thank goodness that Auror Shacklebolt is able to meet tomorrow afternoon. I shall certainly be busy tomorrow, meeting with Primrose and then Auror Shacklebolt. Luckily I only have my Sixth and Seventh Years tomorrow so I shall set them some theory to study whilst I am away. I must make sure that Albus is unaware that I have left the castle though. Perhaps I could ask Poppy to cover for me. I could ask her to say that I had an accident or something of that sort and that I am recovering and must not have any visitors. Yes, that should do._

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Meanwhile, Albus Dumbledore could be found sitting at his office desk, with his head in his hands, internally debating how to stop the news about the Howler from spreading.

 _Firstly I need to stop the news from spreading outside of Hogwarts. What are the students going to do as soon as they're released from the Great Hall? Owl their friends and family. That's it! I'll put up an anti-owl ward around Hogwarts so that no owls can come in or out of the grounds. I ought to make sure the ward includes all of the staff too, aside from myself of course, because after what's happened I'm not exactly sure whether I can trust all of them to keep quiet about this. I'll also keep an eye on all of them to make sure that none of them leave Hogwarts in person._

Around one hour later...

 _Phew thank goodness that's completed, I am absolutely exhausted now. Of course this is only a temporary solution and I will have to come up with a permanent one tomorrow when I am less tired, but at least I do not need to worry for the moment. Time for bed! Uh oh. I need to tell Aurora that she can let the students go. I will send her a note using Discio and ask her and the rest of the staff to speak with me tomorrow should they wish to._

A few minutes later...

 _Finally, time for bed now. It's been a long, long day. Let's hope tomorrow will be much less eventful and I can come up with a permanent solution to erase tonight from everyone's minds._

Little did Albus Dumbledore know how far from the truth his wishes were.

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 **A/N: 'Discio' is a spell that I made up that magically sends things to people a short distance away. It's basically the opposite of Accio and it saved Dumbledore from having to face the staff and students in person - a bit of a coward, don't you think?!**

 **I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter so please review! What did you think about everyone's reactions? Were you surprised by any? What do you think about Minerva's plans for tomorrow? Will Albus get in her way when she's trying to leave? Will Albus manage to come up with a successful 'permanent solution'? Stay tuned as there's lots of drama to come!**


	9. Chapter 9, Fumbling Dumbledore

**A/N: Thank you for all the follows, favourites and reviews once again and apologies for the really long wait in between updates.**

 **As before, any writing in italics is a character's thoughts and any underlined writing is from a newspaper article.**

 **To my reviewers:**

 **The Princess of Pink - Thanks for the review and they're both great guesses! In this chapter there's neither another Howler nor hate mail but keep an eye out as one/both of these may occur in the future!**

 **Yaw613 - Thank you for the review! I'm afraid this chapter took a while to be ready though I hope you still enjoy it!**

 **FlowerChild23 - You're right - it will get out one way or another!**

 **LambdaOfTheDead - Merci encore pour ta revue! Ça me plaît que des gens aiment mon fic! Il sera probablement quelques temps jusqu'à la vérité sera annoncée au sujet de comment Rose a envoyé une beuglante à Poudlard, mais j'espère que tu aimera tous le drame que se passera avant ça!**

 **arapyanime - She does, doesn't she!**

 **lilyflower50 - Thanks for the review! I'm not going to comment yet about Albus wanting Harry abused as I might end up giving something away, though I love hearing what my readers have to say so please keep reviewing and you may get little hints along the way!**

 **leafpool310 - Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like it so far!**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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 **Chapter 9, Fumbling Dumbledore**

 **Wednesday 4th November 1981,**

 **7:45am**

Sitting alone at his battered wooden table a man, who appeared to be in his 40s due to the grey streaks in his hair and now permanent furrowed eyebrows and stress lines on his face, was nursing his cup of tea. The man was having his daily morning cup of tea and contemplating how his life could have turned so downhill in only a matter of days when he heard a tapping at the window. He looked up and sighed, before standing up and letting the owl in. The owl, a tawny brown colour, rested on the table and held out his leg to be relieved of the day's Daily Prophet. The man, Remus Lupin, thanked the owl and gave it a few owl treats before it flew out of the window. Remus then sat back down on his rickety chair and unrolled the paper to find the following glaring up at him:

FUMBLING DUMBLEDORE PLACES HARRY POTTER WITH ABUSIVE MUGGLES

Remus' eyes widened in shock and he continued reading to see what the rest of the article had to say.

It has just been revealed through an inside source that yesterday evening was highly eventful for Albus Dumbledore, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, for he received a Howler. Yes, you read that correctly, Albus Dumbledore received a Howler during dinner in front of the entire population of Hogwarts. This Howler was from one of the two sisters of Lily Potter, deceased mother of The Boy-Who-Lived, who, as I am sure you will all remember, died along with her husband James Potter at the hand of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named on Halloween night, when her baby son Harry Potter miraculously lived.

The Evans sister who sent the Howler (whose name this reporter does not yet have, though those of us at the Prophet will be sure to keep our loyal readers informed as soon as we know more) claimed that Albus Dumbledore did not inform her of her sister's death and that he left Harry Potter on the doorstep of her other sister, Petunia, who appears to be a muggle. Evans also claimed that once she discovered what had happened to Lily and James Potter she visited Petunia's house and found little Harry abused and neglected. That's right, she found our saviour, The Boy-Who-Lived living on a springy mattress in the cupboard under the stairs, with signs of physical abuse including the mark of an adult's handprint of his little face. This reporter is totally and utterly appalled that anybody would treat a child in this manner, let alone an orphaned baby who happens to be The Boy-Who-Lived.

But, my dear readers, this is far from all that was revealed last night. Not only did Albus Dumbledore not inform Evans of her sister's death and leave Harry Potter with abusive muggles, he also lied to Petunia stating that Evans had refused guardianship of young Mr Potter, when in fact Evans was not offered guardianship at all! Evans referred to Dumbledore as a "manipulative, lying old bastard" and, was in my opinion, quite rightly furious with the man. How could this man, viewed as Leader of the Light and head of the resistance against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named appear to be so kind and gentle when he is in fact so manipulative? Can we continue to trust this man as the Headmaster of Britain's only wizarding school? To allow him to control the education of our magical children? That is up to you to decide, my dear readers, but perhaps you will want to read the article below first.

 _Your newest reporter, Rita Skeeter._

Remus looked up in horror at the description of Harry's previous living conditions and felt the fury of the wolf deep inside him that Dumbledore, who they all thought they could trust, had lied and manipulated them. Remus was appalled at how both Dumbledore and Petunia had acted, though he was very glad that Rose had discovered the situation so quickly. He knew that she would take good care of Harry and decided that he would try to make contact with her once he'd read the following article

DUMBLEDORE'S REPUTATION BLACKENS

In addition to the above article, the Howler that Evans sent to Albus Dumbledore contained further very interesting information, this time regarding Sirius Black, who I am sure you will remember has been arrested for betraying the Potters to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, participating in Death Eater activity, and for murdering 13 people, 1 wizard, Peter Pettigrew, and 12 muggles.

BUT, in her Howler, Evans claimed that Black was not a Death Eater at all and did not betray the Potters to You-Know-Who. She even went so far as to claim that Peter Pettigrew was the real Secret Keeper of the Potters' hidden location before their deaths and that he betrayed them to You-Know-Who. Evans said "Sirius was the decoy, not the actual Secret Keeper. Sirius is completely innocent, he would never betray Lily and James." To me this sounds as though Evans has unwavering faith in Black's innocence and she states that her sister, Lily Potter told her before her death that Peter Pettigrew was the true Secret Keeper. This reporter was shocked by this claim, and is sure that many of our dear readers will be equally as shocked too.

However, what this reporter found even more surprising was Evans' claim that Albus Dumbledore knew the whole time that Black is innocent and that Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper. This reporter was reluctant to believe such an apparently far-fetched statement until she saw evidence of Dumbledore's appearance at the time this claim was announced. Albus Dumbledore's face visibly paled, his mouth hung open in shock and he remained unresponsive to any attempt to gain his attention until Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, shouted his name for the fourth time. His hands were twitching and the entire time and he did not make any attempt to deny any of the accusations aimed at him. To this reporter, he looked like a guilty man whose crimes had just been announced to the entire Wizarding world, which yet again made me question if this man should be in charge of the education of Britain's magical children? Though of course this is for you, our loyal readers to decide.

Be sure to pick up tomorrow's edition of the Daily Prophet where we promise to have more information regarding the mysterious Evans sister, the true colours of Albus Dumbledore, and the potential innocence of Black participating in Death Eater activities and betraying the Potters to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

 _Rita Skeeter._

Remus found that he was suffering from something very unusual for him. Speechlessness. After having witnessed all of the silly, funny, immature and alright, downright idiotic things that the Marauders had collectively got up to, it was really very rare that Remus was speechless. And boy, was he well and truly speechless at this shocking turn of events. He was utterly horrified how badly Harry had been treated and how much Albus Dumbledore, the man he looks - no _looked_ \- up to like a grandfather had lied to him, and to them all. Albus had always seemed so easy going, so mild. Hell, he'd accepted an 11 year old werewolf into his school without blinking twice! From then on Remus had always had the upmost respect for and trust in the man who gave him a chance at a normal life. It was for that reason that Remus was _so_ shocked by what the Daily Prophet claimed. He just couldn't _believe_ that Dumbledore - for he is Dumbledore now, not dear, kindly Albus - had placed Harry with Petunia and not Rose. Dumbledore had eventually given in to Remus' questioning about the whereabouts of his best friends' son and Dumbledore had said that Harry was with Lily's sister, to be brought up in the Muggle world. He stated that such fame would not be good for a young boy and would get to any wise man's head and he therefore stressed how Harry _absolutely must_ be brought up in the Muggle world and that Remus _must not_ have _any_ contact with Harry whatsoever until Dumbledore gave him the go-ahead in many years to come. Remus had thought at the time how Dumbledore had appeared oddly forceful in this demand - for it was certainly not a command - and now he understood why. Because he would have contacted Rose, who would have had no idea what he was talking about. Oh the stupid, manipulative man! And now he didn't know what to believe either - was Sirius the Secret Keeper or was Peter? Either way one of them betrayed James, Lily, Harry, himself, and everyone else on the side of the Light. A week ago Remus would have sworn on his magic that neither Sirius nor Peter was the traitor that that had been betraying their actions, plans and thoughts to the Death Eaters, but now he sadly had to admit that it had to have been one of them. For the moment he would believe Rose's side, that Sirius is innocence, for it would certainly be nice to have some hope of seeing of one his three best friends alive and loyal, though he needed evidence. Remus would never again believe a man's word just for the sake of it after how Alb- no Dumbledore had treated him and his trust. He was simply appalled, there was no other word for it.

It certainly sounds like he needs to contact Rose and find out the whole story from her, accompanied by evidence of course. With that, Remus got up and walked into his bedroom to retrieve his parchment, quill and ink to write to Rose to suggest meeting up with her and Harry. _Oh, little baby Harry_ , how he missed seeing him so much. Harry always seemed to brighten up his week and Remus certainly noticed his own solitude once the Potters had gone into hiding and he was of course unable to see them again. Oh how he couldn't wait to see little Harry again!

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 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It would be great to hear your thoughts about it, or what could happen next! How do you think the Daily Prophet knew about the Howler? Did Dumbledore's anti-owl ward not work? How do you think Dumbledore will react now that the _whole Wizarding world_ knows about his lies and manipulation? And there's still the question of whether Rose is really a Muggle or not, and if so then how did she send a Howler?**

 **It would be great to hear your thoughts!**


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